NEWS

Cincinnati City Council member Reggie Harris speaks before the city raises the transgender pride ag on March 31, 2022.

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Cincinnati Takes New Steps Toward More Direct LGBTQ+ Protections in Municipal Code

Council member Reggie Harris is spearheading e orts for “equal protection under the law”

BY ALLISON BABKA

The Queen City soon could be even more a rming for residents and employees.

Cincinnati City Council member Reggie Harris is collaborating with other city administrators and organizations to update language in the city’s municipal code to provide more comprehensive legal protections and practices. e new provisions will more directly cover gender expression and identity from discrimination and other LGBTQ+ concerns.

LGBTQ most often stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (or questioning), with the longer acronym of LGBTQIA adding intersex and asexual.

Harris speci cally is working on sections 914-1 (“De nitions”), 914-3 (“Housing Discrimination Prohibited”), 914-5 (“Employment Discrimination”), 914-15 (“Exclusions”) of the municipal code, Harris tells CityBeat in an email.

“Cincinnati led the way with its nondiscrimination ordinance, but since then we’ve learned a lot. It’s time to update it so we can continue to lead the nation when it comes to equity,” Harris says.

Section 914-1, the city’s unlawful discriminatory practices chapter of the municipal code, lays out the words and phrases whose meanings have been standardized throughout the code. e section covers a wide range of topics, from age to disability to marital status. e code currently includes de nitions for sexual orientation and transgender individuals, but Harris says that more current language is needed.

“First and foremost, we are updating the de nitions listed in our nondiscrimination code to account for what we have learned as best practices over the years. is includes making sure language pertaining to gender expression and gender identity is up-todate and as inclusive and accurate as possible,” Harris says.

Harris and others also are working on additional sections of the code.

“We are reviewing the enforcement procedure for the ‘Source of Income’ discrimination to address the Section 8 (housing) discrimination occurring throughout the city,” Harris says. “Lastly, we are recommending that the businesses to which the code is applied is expanded so that workers throughout the city, no matter where they work, have equal protection under the law.”

“Together, these changes will make sure that the nondiscrimination language in our city’s code reach(es) as many people as possible and all Cincinnatians have the legal protections they need to live vibrant, ful lling lives,” Harris adds.

Harris, who is serving his rst term on Cincinnati City Council and chairs the Equitable Growth & Housing Committee, is developing the municipal code’s new language alongside city solicitor Andrew W. Garth and representatives from Equality Ohio, a nonpro t organization based in Columbus that advocates for LGBTQ+ issues. He began digging into the issue upon taking his seat on Cincinnati City Council in January, he says, adding that Garth’s o ce is reviewing the updates and will produce an ordinance for the council to evaluate.

Harris hopes to introduce the ordinance to the council “in the next couple months,” he says.

“I used to serve on the board of Equality Ohio and learned about actions local governments can take to ensure that the legal protections provided to its most vulnerable

communities are as robust as possible,” Harris says. “I was aware coming into o ce that the code, while progressive at the time, needed an update. is is what Equality Ohio does extremely well, and that is why I am so happy to partner with them on this project.” e e ort is Harris’ latest push to a rm and protect Cincinnati’s LGBTQ+ residents. On March 31, the city raised the trans pride ag at City Hall for the rst time in Cincinnati’s history in recognition of International Transgender Day of Visibility. Harris, who is gay, coordinated the e ort and marked it as an acknowledgement of progress and a look ahead at the work that still needs to be done.

“We have to do both symbolic gestures and policy gestures, and that is the way we move forward,” Harris said at the time.

During city council meetings in April, Harris, vice mayor Jan-Michele Lemon Kearney, council member Greg Landsman and others have denounced bills sponsored by members of Ohio’s House of Representatives that restrict care or education for LGBTQ+ individuals.

HB 454, titled the “Enact the Save Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act,” would prohibit o ering minors any kind of gender a rming treatment, from hormones to surgery. e bill also would put the onus on healthcare providers by de ning that treatment as “unprofessional conduct” for state licensing boards and making “actual or threatened violations” of the bill grounds for a lawsuit. e more recent HB 616 would prohibit the “promotion and teaching of divisive or inherently racist concepts in public schools” while also nixing educational materials about sexual orientation and gender identity. Educators would be in danger of losing their teaching credentials.

Additional state across the nation, including Florida and Texas, have been introducing — and even passing — legislation that is e ectively antiLGBTQ+ and, frequently, racist.

Before joining Cincinnati City Council, Harris had worked in a ordable housing, social work, social policy and the arts, according to his government biography.

“Personally, I have always said that the legal and lived experiences of our LGBTQIA+ community need to be of our utmost priority. e legal underpinnings of our municipal code provide the basis for this, and it is incredibly important to make sure those protections are in place as a foundation for the equity work we do,” Harris says.

Mayor Aftab Pureval, Refreshed City Council Celebrate First 100 Days in Offi ce

BY ALLISON BABKA

April 15 marked 100 days since Cincinnati mayor Aftab Pureval and most members of Cincinnati City Council took o ce.

During that week’s full council meeting, Pureval noted the milestone, saying that the city was on the path to growth. Pureval won a decisive victory during the Nov. 2 general election after his campaign focused on a ordable housing, economic growth, public safety and climate change.

“Our overwhelming mandate was to chart a new future for our city now, and in our rst 100 days, we have stepped up and taken immediate action to begin that important work,” Pureval declared, echoing what he had said in November when he announced his incoming administration’s transition team.

Pureval was sworn into o ce on Jan. 4 as Cincinnati’s rst new mayor in eight years, also becoming the city’s rst Asian-American mayor. He replaced former mayor John Cranley, who ended his second and nal term in December and is now campaigning to become Ohio’s next governor.

Likewise, an almost entirely new Cincinnati City Council was sworn in alongside Pureval in January, marking a historic moment. Voters elected newcomers Reggie Harris, Meeka D. Owens, Victoria Parks, Scotty Johnson, Je M. Cramerding and Mark Je reys in November, with only Jan-Michele Lemon Kearney, Greg Landsman and Liz Keating returning to their previous council seats. e 2021 race for Cincinnati City Council was one of the largest in the city’s history, with 35 candidates running for nine seats at two-year terms.

Pureval subsequently selected Lemon Kearney as vice mayor. She had been appointed to Cincinnati City Council in 2020 after Tamaya Dennard was arrested on corruption charges and later resigned, and the vice mayor retained her seat during November’s election.

“In just 100 days, we have stepped up and delivered results for our residents,” Pureval said during the April 13 council meeting. “We transitioned in a new mayor, a majority-new council, a new interim city manager, a new interim police chief and a new health commissioner — a new city government. And right out of the gate, we rolled up our sleeves and focused on getting things done.”

“Taking action on our zoning, deconcentrating poverty and desegregating our city, addressing the changing economy and the coming de cit by nding innovative ways to help our city adapt and grow — these are big existential undertakings,” he continued. “But with these public servants and a community that is ready to work with us, I am con dent that the future we are building will be one we will all be proud of. e new future is now.”

Pureval highlighted what he said are some of the city’s accomplishments from the past 100 days, including:

• establishing the council’s rst fully focused housing committee and environmental committee

• procuring resources and equitably distributing COVID-19 tests, vaccines and other protective measures

• enabling a convention center development district

• redeveloping downtown’s former

Macy’s department store building into housing

• enticing Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. to remain in Cincinnati and add more jobs

• building $4 million worth of earned media for city tourism during the

Cincinnati Bengals’ Super Bowl LVI run

• allocating more than $1 million in new funding for re and emergency resources • investing $1 million in federal funds for new pedestrian safety measures

• adding to an a ordable housing trust fund and streamlined ways to get state funding

• planning for a comprehensive audit of the city’s tax abatement structure

• relaunching the Green Cincinnati

Plan

• continuing to develop a connected bicycle infrastructure network

Pureval stressed that his administration and the council are approaching issues through an equity lens, trying to ensure that marginalized people — who frequently are women, Black, Brown, LGBTQ+ or disabled — are centered instead of left out of Cincinnati’s future growth. He noted that the city has focused particularly on uplifting Blackowned and women-owned businesses and contractors, removing barriers to a ordable housing, and developing safer neighborhood infrastructure.

During his milestone week, the mayor also announced that he and his wife Dr. Whitney Whitis had recently welcomed a second son to their family, which already included 2-year-old Bodhi. Pureval said that he would take two weeks of parental leave to be with his family, though six weeks of paid parental leave is available to all city employees.

“Paid leave is so critical for all our families. It’s been proven to boost employee morale and retention, improve outcomes for children, and increase gender equity at home and in the workplace,” Pureval said in social media posts. “Although I will only be clearing my calendar for two weeks, it is important to me to set an example for other expectant fathers and to support my family during this time.” e mayor added that he would be in touch with his administration during his leave and would also be available for urgent matters. Kearney will preside over upcoming Cincinnati City Council meetings in Pureval’s absence.

Mayor Aftab Pureval is sworn in on Jan. 4, 2022.

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